Bicycle Thieves (Northcote)

Fo0die dined as a guest of Bicycle Thieves and as such, the rating does not give any consideration to customer service.

Opened since October 2018, the venue was 4 months old when we visited early February and it was bustling despite being relatively new to the area (which is always a good indicator to what’s to come in our opinion).

Parking around the cafe is mostly 1P with small sections offering 2P. We parked on the street which was 1P until 12:30pm and no limit after that.

Interior

Approaching the venue, we noticed how wide the venue was with floor to ceiling glass windows around two sides of the venue (thanks to the perfect corner location).

The entrance to the venue is on High Street which is away from the corner and on entry, we noticed an accessibility ramp which runs along the back of the coffee counter/bar to enter into the venue’s dining space. To the right are a couple of steps up to enter the same dining space.

Food/Drinks

The menu brings classic breakfast dishes with twists which include Asian influences; both dishes we chose had Asian influences.

The venue did not offer matcha lattes so Mr J opted for his fall back; an English breakfast. While I had my usual mocha to start the meal (and day!)

The breakfast ramen was something we had seen on Instagram already prior to arriving to the venue and we knew we had to have this because ramen for breakfast, why not right? While having untraditional breakfast items is nothing new for me, for Mr J who likes to stick to the traditional breakfast items, this was most likely an interesting dish to have for breakfast.

The ramen was surprisingly spicy for Mr J but would not be over the top for a normal person who can tolerate a little bit of heat. The pork accompanying the ramen was a slightly fatty cut but the highlight was the broth which had a nice depth of flavour. Mr J also noted that he did not feel super thirsty following the ramen (usually being thirsty is an indicator of the use of MSG or the like).

The fritters were pancake style with two poached eggs and pulled pork shoulder on top. I found the fritter to be more heavier on the sweet potato side than the kimchi and therefore this was not overly spicy.

Entering the venue, we already eyed the glass display cabinet which was stocked with Cobb Lane Bakery doughnuts. By the time we had finished our meal, there were only a couple of doughnuts left. A sweet finish to our meal and as expected of Cobb Lane Bakery doughnuts; it was sugar coated goodness!

The fact the venue is so busy despite being relatively new, speaks volumes about the food they have on offer. Although a little more pricier than other cafes (most dishes are just over $20), the food is delicious and clearly a lot of effort has gone into the creation of each dish.